Monthly Archives: April 2015

Hey, writers, do you hate to market? I’ve heard the old saying that writers hate to market and aren’t very good at it. That’s kind of off-putting. Actually, I’m discovering it can be fun. The reason? There are lots of nice people out there eager to help. Marketing is about building relationships. For instance, I made a cold call at Joe’s Place, an intimate used and new bookstore downtown Greenville, SC, and instantly made new friends after I read them “The Redemptive Red Bra” from The Pantyhose Declarations. Since then, they invited me to read there with two other poets and will host the launch of Mooof Writing 2-4 p.m. Sunday, May 3. Penny Padgett at The Book Shelf in Tryon, NC, is offering Moo of Writing at the Lanier Poetry Festival this weekend and will stock the book, along with my poetry books, on her shelves. As the Page Turns in Greenville carries my poetry. Lucy Walton-Lange, book editor, at femalefirst.co.uk is considering a Moo book review. She said I’d been her first blogger. Visit the site, put my name in the search column, and you’ll find a bunch of Moo columns. Another UK editor, Jonathan Telfer of Writers’ News and Writing Magazine, graciously wrote a blurb for the book cover after he ran my “Find Your Moos” article in the magazine. Many wonderful friends and former Moo of Writing workshop participants plan to come to Moo’s book launch May 3. The next step is to expand the circle online. The book is available through Amazon and Ingram, and this weekend I’m submitting it to Publisher’s Weekly. They’ve started doing book reviews by self-published authors. Yay! They may or may not accept it. They may or may not like it. I’ll keep you posted. Meanwhile, Twitter, here I come!!

MOOOOO! I’m Nan Lundeen’s friend the dairy cow here to tell you her unique how-to-write handbook is available! Some of you’ve been waiting forever for Moo of Writing: how to milk your potential, I know. Some of you helped her by reading and critiquing. Some of you took Moo of Writing workshops and were promised the handbook was coming out soon. And some of you are just now leaning over the pasture fence to get acquainted. Well, come on in and set a spell. Buy Moo of Writing at Amazon.com or come to our book signing 2-4 p.m. Sunday, May 3, at Joe’s Place, a lovely indie bookshop at 640 S. Main St., Greenville, SC. Besides a friendly place to buy new and used books, Joe’s features local art and a wine and coffee bar. A free Moo stone to those who attend (while supplies last). Y’all come! Click on my website to learn more and to buy the book. www.nanlundeen.com

This poem from Black Dirt Days: Poems as Memoir depicts my memories of an ice storm that flailed Iowa one Easter Eve when I was but a kid living on a farm near Elvira with my mother and father. Despite the storm—or maybe because of it—we created our own moment of hope.